


Sailor Song

by Elleh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Daichi is a Merman, M/M, Merman & Pirate Au, Sugawara is a pirate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-24 23:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12023292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elleh/pseuds/Elleh
Summary: Suga is saved twice by a merman and holy heck, he can't believe he's feeling this attracted to a mythical creature with such a beautiful tail.





	Sailor Song

**Author's Note:**

> This came from the prompt for Day 7 of DaiSuga week, but because I'm slow and had a weird summer, I couldn't write it on time so. Here we are now. 
> 
> (i called it a one-shot, but to be honest I don't discard writing a series of follow-ups, because it was pretty fun to write, and there are some things I'd love to explore in this AU.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy this overly sweet and weird thing!

Treason was a concept Sugawara Koushi was well acquainted with. His life of piracy probably had something to do with it, but the truth was a bit more complicated than that. Yes, Koushi enjoyed his glorious life of crime, but he was also a man of strict moral and lined ethics. When his first country started to sail too close to the despicable coast of debauchery, Koushi had made his choice.

And he had become that choice.

Being a pirate had its ups and downs, of course. Although ethically strict, Koushi had found himself more than once facing the reality of his actions didn’t match the filling of his soul. It had been a hard path from honourable sailor to what he was now, but Koushi had never regretted any of it.

So yes, Koushi liked treason, for it was conquered land he held dear. It gave him status, a godlike existence he carried around with pride and cockiness. Treason had freed him, when the chains of duty were about to strangle him. Treason had given him a boat and an ocean to discover.

“Captain, we’ve found another.”

Koushi teared his gaze from the map he was drawing, a crow cleaning its wings at his side. He arched an eyebrow, Noya’s smile weird and confusing given the topic of his announcement.

“And?”

“We think there are survivors this time!”

Despite Noya’s excitement, survivors were not as good news as it sounded. More so, when Koushi’s ship was in more than ten wanted lists in five different countries for a series of crimes they hadn’t committed.

“Noya…” Koushi shook his head when Noya avoided Koushi’s eyes. “What are you not telling me.”

“Ryu _might_ have already gone check it out.”

“What?”

Indeed, when Koushi made it to the main deck he could see the half sunken ship, a small rescuing boat sailing fast towards it. Koushi sighed loudly, the weight of being an outlaw in charge of too many reckless kids well sat on his shoulders.

Koushi didn’t take his gaze away from Tanaka, but he grabbed the sword and gun Kageyama, who appeared out of nowhere, now offered him. Noya’s energy was calling Koushi’s attention like a ball of fire, but he kept his eyes on the sea. Ignorance was the most effective way to implant discipline.

“This is your fault too.”

“I told him to wait for you, I swear! But, you know Ryu, Captain. He has eternal energy.”

…except to Nishinoya Yuu, of course. Koushi wasn’t sure Noya had ever followed any written or unwritten rule, and fondness and exasperation filled him at the thought.

Koushi grunted loudly, but the expression of his frustration didn’t help him calm down nor did it fix the problem at hand.

“Go check the hold, make sure all our weapons are there.”

“Aye Captain!”

“And Kageyama,” the boy tensed when Koushi turned around to look at him. He bowed softly, making Koushi smile, endeared. “Come with me. We’d go help Tanaka and try to save our necks in the process.”

“Aye.”

Kageyama was strong for such a thin kid. Koushi couldn’t but appreciate the flexing of his muscles while he rowed with amazing speed. One grew curious, at such sight. Kids Kageyama’s age, kids with Kageyama’s manners and soft skin had to come from _somewhere_. And a somewhere not very pleasant for someone with Koushi’s line of work .

Koushi was curious, of course. He was pretty sure he knew well enough what background was painted on Kageyama’s story, but he never asked. He didn’t have to. Did it matter, what Kageyama hid every time his eyes fell on his feet, with every scared shrug of his shoulders? It didn’t. Not even on the prospect of that same past coming back to chase them.

They reached Tanaka before he could do any major damage on their already fucked up reputation.

“Captain!”

“I told you several times to wait for me before you go out on an expedition.”

“I know,” Tanaka’s expression was far from cheerful. Koushi frowned, for he was expecting Noya’s unconcern reflected on Tanaka’s face. “But I saw something move and I…” Tanaka caressed the back of his neck, paleness whitening his usually tanned skin. “It’s bad, Captain.”

Koushi felt his stomach free fall. “How bad?”

“ _Mythical-creature_ bad.”

Koushi’s brain didn’t process.

“Come again?”

“Mermaids, Captain. They are _everywhere_.”

Koushi blinked, and blinked again, and then smiled widely because this was not happening.

“You’re kidding.”

Tanaka had been part of Koushi’s crew for half a decade now and knew where Koushi’s limits lay. As much as Koushi wanted to lie to himself, Tanaka was smart enough to not joke with some topics. Koushi’s smile became a grimace when Tanaka shook his head.

“I cannot deal with mermaids.”

“Captain,” Koushi sighed, a hand caressing his eyes. He waved at Kageyama, quieting his inexperienced fear. He had brought him thinking this would be a simple matter, and now he had to teach the kid not only how to loot a sunken ship, but how to survive _mermaids_ , of all things.

“Shush a second, Kageyama, I need to think.”

“No, Captain. Look.”

Koushi _really_ didn’t want to look, but with a grunt he turned around and followed the direction Kageyama was pointing at. It was hard to spot at first, the angry waters washing over the sparkling bodies. There were several tails, all of them with different scale colours, appearing and disappearing on the surface of the sea. From this distance it was complicated to tell exactly what they were doing, but it was undoubtedly related to the sunken ship.

“Are they—?” Koushi wished he had brought his binoculars with him. He squinted, trying to figure out what the mermaids were doing. “Are they pulling people out of the water?”

“I think so,” Tanaka agreed, face stern. “Captain, shouldn’t we stop them? Mermaids aren’t good news.”

“Nothing that happens to us is ever good news.”

Tanaka rolled his eyes, Koushi’s antics too old to bother him.

“I’m serious.”

“Maybe we should let Noya fire them up. We _did_ need to go buy supplies, anyway.”

“We don’t murder, Captain,” Tanaka reminded him. “Not even mythical creatures.”

“You’re no fun, Tanaka–kun.”

Kageyama’s expression could be called panic, if Koushi was reading him right. Since he had joined Koushi’s crew less than two weeks ago, he had yet to get used to his new Captain and his new life.

Koushi patted his shoulder, trying to be reassuring.

“I won’t kill them.”

Kageyama didn’t look convinced.

“We won’t kill them,” Koushi repeated, and the plural made Kageyama sigh in relief. “Now, take the boat and go back to the ship. Tell Noya and Ennoshita about the mermaids. Tanaka,” Koushi grinned at the sight of Tanaka already in motion. “Let’s go fight mythical creatures.”

  


Despite the undeniable love Koushi had for treason, it still tasted fishy when it was his own beliefs, that betrayed him. Koushi could handle a rope on his throat, but he’d be damned before he accepted his own mistakes.

“They are saving them,” Koushi stated the obvious, for him and Tanaka were witnessing that same fact. “They are taking them out of the water, and saving them,” Koushi had a smile plastered on his lips, fake as a green sky. Tanaka grimaced at the sight. “How the heck are mermaids saving humans, and why are we the ones seeing this for the first time?”

“You did want to make history, Captain.”

Koushi pouted. “Don’t make me throw you out of the boat.”

They stayed some meters away from the scene, the waves of the enraged sea rocking them. It was frustrating to realise not only was Koushi _wrong_ , but he was _old_. He could barely see a thing, and they were not that far anymore.

“Remind me I’ll have to buy a pair of glasses next time we port.”

“Aye.”

“Also, is short hair the new fashion in _mermaidland_?”

“How would I know?”

Koushi arched his eyebrows at Tanaka. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen the magazines you read.”

Tanaka blushed. He started to wave his hands, a futile attempt to erase Koushi’s words and Koushi’s knowledge. The Captain just stayed put and rolled his eyes. Laugh filled his mouth, but Koushi had enough self-preservation to keep it in. Tanaka was a good man, but not a careful one.

Koushi should have remembered that small bit. Embarrassment had always been Tanaka’s ruination, and now it was gonna be Koushi’s too.

It hurt like hell. Tanaka was way stronger than he looked, and when his embarrassed hand collided with Koushi’s left cheek, it sent him flying over the gunwale.

And directly to the infested sea.

Koushi loved the ocean. Sometimes, when it was dark and the stars shone so bright they built paths on the night sky, Koushi had this fantasy. He called it fantasy because he didn’t have the reassurance of his own memories, and because he had been a dreamer before all this pirate life started. In his fantasy, Koushi could see himself as a toddler, barely old enough to walk properly. He could feel his small, fatty legs moving frenetically under water, his eyes wide open. The sea was open before him, blues and greens and whites and reds. A world of color he had never seen before, a paradise, a myth. Although legs and arms waggled with desperation, Koushi remembered that moment as one of the calmest moments of his life. A revelation. A sign.

Now underwater, arms and legs kicking around with the same fear he had felt in that fantasy, Koushi was once again fascinated by this mystic place, this underworld. His lungs were burning with fever, life escaping from his nose with every second the tide hit him. And yet, Koushi’s eyes reminded open, Koushi’s heart completely lost at the mere sight of the sea.

Koushi saw the shadow a second before it collided with his body, moving him through the water and back to the surface. He coughed his life out, salt drying his lips and his throat. Koushi couldn’t help the grimace, nor the way he was holding with all his might to the strong arms around his torso.

“Stay still,” a calm, sweet voice whispered against his ear. (He wasn’t whispering, of course, the sea way too loud for anything but a scream to be heard, but Koushi was enjoying his fantasy very much, so he didn’t bother to be correct). “Breathe through your mouth, I’ll take you back to your boat.”

Koushi tried to answer, but the caw of a dying crow was the only thing that left his lips. Ashamed, Koushi nodded and let himself be dragged through the enraged ocean.

Tanaka was leaning out of the rescuing boat when they reached it. His face was as pale as mermaid dust, his eyes full of apologies and regrets. Koushi tried to smile, but he could only put out a grimace of sorts. Shit, his throat was killing him, the burning feeling crawling up to his nostrils and mouth.

“Can you help me lift him?” Koushi’s saviour asked Tanaka.

His second in command nodded profusely, almost knocking over the boat with his eagerness.

Koushi tried to rise his arms and help both of them put him back to safety, but he felt weak. And honestly? The warmth of the body at his back was soft and homelike and Koushi wouldn’t mind staying there for a little longer.

Tanaka took a hold of his arms, —Koushi looked at them surprised and betrayed. The damn things should have been underwater and enjoying the moment, not going against Koushi’s wishes—, and the man at his back put his gorgeous hands on Koushi’s butt and pushed him out of the water.

With a thwack, Koushi landed on his side, ( _Dammit!)_ , and breathed heavily against the wet wood. He could see Tanaka still on the gunwale, watching wary at the sea. Koushi could see his lips moving, but water had filled his ears with salt and dreams and fantasies, so he could hear nothing.

He wanted to stand up and thank his saviour. He wanted to lean over, just as Tanaka was doing, and with his best smile, flirt with whomever had those warm hands —shapes he could still feel on his skin.

Koushi hadn’t been that long underwater, he kept thinking. It was just a second, why was he this weak and overworked? He was a damn pirate! A Captain at that! He should be better than this! No, wait, Tanaka, what are you doing? Stay put! _Stay put_ , you idiot!

Tanaka ignored Koushi’s loud thoughts. He turned around, took the oars and, with a worried look on Koushi’s direction, started rowing back to their main ship.

Koushi was still cursing Tanaka’s life choices when he passed out.

  
  


“You let Suga get knocked out by a merman?”

“…Not exactly what happened.”

“That pause is quite telling,” Noya’s amused voice was close. Koushi frowned, when a wet and cold thing was put on his forehead. It felt sort of disgusting. “You were tryin’ to get a good look on the mermaids, weren’t you.”

“I wasn’t!” Tanaka’s embarrassment was coming out of his body in heat waves. Koushi tried to move his body closer to him so the wet, cold feeling would disappear, unsuccessfully. “I don’t care about mermaids, okay?”

“Ryuu, I’ve seen your magazines.”

Tanaka’s roar was loud and pained, and it finally made Koushi’s eyes fly open. “Enough with my magazines already! Why’s everyone on this ship picking on my stuff?” Koushi stared at both of them, lips sealed. His mind was clouded and thick with cotton, and yet, he couldn’t but smile at Noya’s teasing. That was his boy.

“Dude, I was looking for some porn,” Noya shrugs, as if the answer was obvious. “Imagine my disappointment when I found your stack of… well, how do you call it? _Box of Shame_?”

“Fuck you,” Koushi chuckled at how red Tanaka was getting, finally catching both men’s attention. “Oh, Captain! You’re awake.”

On the span of a beat, Tanaka’s blush went from crimson to worried white, his eyes darkened with worry. Koushi patted his hand and tried to widen his smile.

“I am,” Koushi croaked. His throat tasted like hell and sea mixed, and it was awful. “Did something die on my mouth or…?”

“Nah, but a merman wanted to have fun with that mouth of yours, Captain, and Ryuu protected your chastity like a knight in shiny armour.”

“What a shame,” Koushi pouted (he wasn’t even sure why, but the mark of that torso against his back was still warm in his memory). “You didn’t have to protect a man willing to give himself, Tanaka-kun.”

Noya bursted out laughing, his head bent back in that open and extreme way he had. Koushi watched him, amused. Noya’s laugh was the best medicine of them all, wasn’t it.

“Please, Captain, stop joking.”

“Sadly for all of us,” Koushi managed to sit on his bed, his head spinning so fast he could barely make out Tanaka’s shape, “I wasn’t.”

That stopped Tanaka’s hands, that were reaching forward to help Koushi steady himself. Koushi, still dizzy, blinked at his second in command, an unworded question in his blurry eyes.

“Mermen and mermaids are not something to play with,” Tanaka said slowly, as if he weren’t completely sure of Koushi’s mental capabilities.

“And you’d know because—?”

“He wants to be a scholar on mythical creatures, Noya,” Koushi admonished with a soft voice. Noya giggled in answer, while Tanaka just frowned deeply. “Don’t break the poor boy’s dreams.”

“I’m serious,” Tanaka crossed his arms in front of his chest, and watched both of them with wary anger. “I already told you the mermaids were gonna become a problem for us. On the last two sunken ships we looted, we were almost caught _because_ of them.”

“That’s inaccurate and unproven,” Koushi shook his head, and although he did it softly, the room started to spin again.

Tanaka sighed, exasperated, and put his right hand on Koushi’s nape, keeping him from falling out of bed. Koushi smiled thankful up at him, but Tanaka’s stern expression didn’t allow for any nice emotion to break through.

“We are not going back for the mermaids,” Tanaka ordered. Koushi would have gotten mad at him if he weren’t feeling his stomach climbing his throat and killing his words. “Tell me we aren’t going back.”

Koushi threw up on his feet instead.

  
  


Koushi had another fantasy. This one he knew it was a creation of his feverish mind and not a might–have–been–a–memory sort of thing, because although they lived in a land of magic, Koushi was far from possessing any.

A woman he met once in a land far, far away, told him his soul was traveling, in that fantasy. Not entirely a made up situation, she said, but Koushi’s soul leaving his body and becoming something entirely new for a second, for a lifetime.

Nights like today’s were the perfect setting for that fantasy to appear, no matter how deep down Koushi buried it. Where the night’s stars would bring Koushi’s more innocent memories, the stormed night sky would make of Koushi’s heart a chaotic ball of energy. He could feel the faraway thunder lightening his soul, electrifying him. With goose bumps all over, Koushi leaned over the rail, his torso dangerously flying above the breaking waves.

He inhaled deeply, the taste of salt, of storm, of freedom. Drops wet his smile and his closed eyes, the ocean’s caress matching the loud song of the wind. Sometimes, when Koushi’s thoughts got so loud he couldn’t even hear the people around him speak, he’d do this, and the world would stop.

Just like now.

His ship kept sailing through the dark seas, of course, an endless journey across the globe. But Koushi’s soul—that one the woman had spoken of,—just shut down and _breathed_. And breathed again, filling Koushi’s lungs with substances not even alchemist could describe, because they were nothing short of miracles.

The sky roared above Koushi’s head, and he beamed with genuine and pure innocent joy. The rush of fear was making of Koushi’s mind a mined field, his thoughts crashing against each other, his self-preservation almost vaporized by this addictive _terror_. And yet— he couldn’t remember a time when he felt more alive than in this dangerous moments.

Koushi was pretty sure he had some suicidal instincts he should be working on, —the memory of a rope against his throat was hard to forget,— but in this ethereal moment between life and death, those worries vanished. Koushi felt one inch from the gods. Body still hanging from the boat, his feet barely touching the deck, Koushi straightened his arm and tried to reach up, up, up.

His hand cupped the clouds above, and through his fingers, Koushi watched the sky break. The heavy rain stabbed Koushi’s palm, his open eyes, his teeth and tongue and spread lips. The storm was hitting his ship with the might of furious gods, and it felt glorious.

Koushi’s laugh traveled through the wind when waves the size of mountains crashed against the starboard. The sudden enraged sea made the boat sway from left to right, and although Koushi was holding onto the rail, the rain and the tall waves were making his grip slippery.

It happened within a second that got lengthened for eternity. Koushi saw it happen as if it were in slow speed. First his feet lost contact with the deck just when a wave hit the port. Although his fingers and nails were leaving marks on the rail’s wood, the strength of the hit was enough to throw Koushi’s body overboard.

Time clocked. A lightning struck the surface of the ocean. Koushi was flying between life and death.

And the next second, he wasn’t.

He could see his body, though, hung up between the deck and the open, enraged sea. But when Koushi tried to read his physical existence, he failed. He didn’t even have a mind to understand what he was seeing, or how he was feeling, although both things were getting processed by something else he—couldn’t quite name.

He light up the sky and his crew, when he became the storm. Electricity was making him now, and he heard himself laugh, and he became the wind. The rush of the speed was making his _no_ mind go nuts, and he kept laughing and laughing when he crashed against Noya’s body, Tanaka’s screaming face, Kageyama’s immobile shape. Koushi hugged them and played with their clothes and their hairs, and meanwhile he laughed.

Gods, he loved feeling alive…

…was what he thought when he finally fell face flat against the water.

It was cold as heck. The sharp stabs of pain embraced him, and Koushi could barely move his legs and arms to keep his head above the surface. Dammit, it was the second time in how long? A week? He was starting to be ashamed of himself, a captain who couldn’t even stay put on his ship long enough as to not _drown_.

Ridiculous.

Koushi managed to break the surface and inhale deeply, water falling on his mouth and choking him. He tried to brace himself out of the tide, but it was useless. This dark, Koushi could barely point out where the sky was. He’d be swimming in circles and die before he managed to understand he wasn’t swimming in the right direction.

As much as Koushi enjoyed the rush of fear and playing on the limit between life and death, he was madly in love with _his life_. Death was a serious business, and Koushi wasn’t planning on being serious until the day he died.

And hell be damned, he wasn’t gonna let _today_ be that day.

Another lightning struck, and Koushi saw the shape of his ship on his right. Desperate, he moved his legs and arms frantically, but he couldn’t manage to reach the surface. _It’s there, it’s just—there…_

Koushi broke the surface, panting. His sight was darkened by black spots, and he blinked trying to clear them out. For how his chest was burning one would think he just came out of a fire instead of the ocean. Koushi shivered at the cold touch of the wind, and held closer to the tight, warm body that was keeping him floating…

…wait, what?

Koushi turned his head around just to find two big, dark, really mad eyes focused on him. Koushi’s arms were holding so tight around the man’s neck he was probably choking him, but not a sound of protest left Koushi’s saviour’s mouth. Still, it was obvious from the frown the man was wearing he wasn’t pleased by this situation.

“Uhm… Thank you—?”

“The second time,” the man said roughly, his voice caressing Koushi’s cheek. They were so close Koushi’s nose could bump with the stranger’s.

“What?”

“It's the second time I have to save you from the Mother Ocean,” the man explained, and all the bells started to ring on Koushi’s mind, finally.

“You’re the merman!” he exclaimed, overly excited. Koushi tried to straighten himself, but he only made both of them sink.

Out of breath, and still hurting, Koushi just held to the merman as dear life and prayed for his own survival. Gods, he hoped the merman wasn’t as evil-minded as Tanaka’s magazines put them out to be.

They broke the surface again, the merman working his tail hard to keep them both out of the water. Koushi tried to wash the drips out of his eyes, but it was quite complicated to maneuver when you were hugging a tailed man with all your might.

Koushi smiled, trying to smooth things a bit. The merman’s frown deepened.

“You’re reckless,” he stated, and although his voice barely trembled, Koushi didn’t have any problem understanding what it really was. He had, after all, been scolding his crew since he got one in that same tone.

“I am, yes,” Koushi grinned, his eyes finally adjusting to the dark. He wasn’t aware merman could be _this_ handsome. _Maybe I should become a scholar too. Imagine how fun it would be if I could disectionate nice specimens like this one…_ “Sorry you had to save me. Twice. Although, to be fair, the first time wasn’t really—.”

“It’s humans like you,” the merman interrupted, “that make the lives of my people so difficult.”

“Excuse me, sir, I’m nothing but a ray of sunshine for the mermaids.”

The merman rolled his eyes. It was a spectacular rolling of eyes, if you asked Koushi.

“Men like you come, break ships, _rob_ them, and when the authorities find them, they point at the sea and say: _mermaids_. Mermaids aren’t evil. We don’t break ships. We don’t steal. I’ll let you know it’s been decades since the law against Song Sailor was established!”

Oh, wow. Koushi was a bit ashamed of how attracted he was feeling to this man. _Merman_ . He almost died two minutes ago, and here he was now, prepared to lay himself on a soft surface and say: _take me, I’m yours_.

(He was so in, he wouldn’t even mind a hard surface).

Shit, was he a slut for the wet? Man, he was sure he did read that term somewhere in Tanaka’s magazines, and it was not as nice as it sounded.

“ _Song Sailor_. Is that a group band or…?”

The merman rolled his eyes again. Koushi had to hold a giggle, — _a giggle,_ of all things.

“ _Song Sailor_ is what ancient mermaids did to you, human sailors. We’d been working for almost a century to make it illegal, and we finally managed it half a century ago.”

A proud merman was a hot merman, Koushi discovered. Without thinking too much about it, Koushi let his fingers disentangle from his grip on the merman’s nape, and started to play with the hair there.

The merman tensed but said nothing, and Koushi tried to hid his pleased smile.

He didn’t try harder.

“Are you making fun of me?” It was curiosity and not anger, what fell from that question. Maybe a bit of exasperation on the way the merman’s lips twitched at the tips, as if he were trying to hold back a smile.

“No. I find your laws and history class awfully interesting, despite myself.”

The merman arched an eyebrow, and Koushi wanted to scream. This was the best night of his life, and he wasn’t even a merman groupie.

“I would much appreciate it if you took my people’s struggles seriously. We’ve been working really hard to make a better name for ourselves.”

Koushi wasn’t sure if the amusement behind that serious statement was a creation of his mind.

“So, you’re a social fighter.”

“Maybe. I’ve been doing a lot of social work, lately. Saving people from wrecked ships, saving people from rescuing boats, saving people from…”

“Yes, I got it. You’ve been pretty busy saving lives.”

The merman hummed, a soft vibration that went from his chest to Koushi’s, warming him up. It almost felt like the purr of a cat.

“I’ve been busy saving _yours_ . I think you’re the first person I save _twice_.”

Koushi couldn’t help the smug smile that spread on his lips.

“Maybe I was trying to reach you and thank you for your services.”

“As I understand it, mermaids and mermans are _under_ water, not on the land of the dead.”

“Fair enough,” Koushi broke into a laugh, the sight of the merman’s half smile enough to light up a lifetime of nightmares. “Well, then. Mister Merman–Whose–Name–I–Don’t–Know–Yet, thank you very much for saving me not only once, but twice. Your social duty is impeccably done.”

“It’s Daichi,” the merman said softly. It was too dark for Koushi to be sure, but it felt as if his cheeks were blushed. “Sawamura Daichi.”

“I didn’t know mermaids used surnames.”

“We had to adapt to the humans’ customs. Authorities are exigent, in these sort of things.”

Koushi had to laugh again at the image of proper and rules-protector Daichi incarcerated.

“Have you been called in by authorities much?”

Daichi licked his lips, catching Koushi’s attention.

“More times than I’d like, yes.”

“Something we have in common, then.”

That startled Daichi, whose embrace got tighter around Koushi’s hips and waist. His gaze filled with distrust, and Koushi had to mourn the loss of the light conversation they were just having.

“Are you a criminal?”

Koushi thought it for a second, the waves swaying them.

“Some people would say so,” Koushi cleared his throat and let a bitter laugh out. “A lot of people, actually. I was once like you, you know. A follower of justice! But—. Sometimes justice isn’t just, and one time that discrepancy was too much for me.”

Daichi didn’t say anything. They floated, still hugged, while the tide moved them around. The rain’s strength was fading away, the sea still rough but calmer now. Koushi could feel Daichi’s tail keeping them above the surface, and he marveled at how amazing this whole experience was just for that one bit.

“You’re a rogue vigilante, then.”

Koushi could feel warmth filling his mouth and chest. It almost melted the knot he had on his throat, and he laughed loudly.

“That’s actually a pretty nice definition, but I’m afraid I am not. See, I’m a _pirate_.”

Daichi’s eyes opened widely, a soft, innocent blink that made him go from strongly overwhelming to adorably sweet. Koushi drank from the change of his expression as if he were parched, the exact vitamins Koushi had been looking for without knowing it given by this man with a tail.

“A _pirate_ ,” Daichi repeated, voice hoarse. He still felt like a trusty pilar, fair and immovable, but although he had tried really hard to pretend indifference, Koushi had a life of reading people.

The merman was _ecstatic._ Oh, Koushi was gonna have so much fun.

“A pirate, yes. I have a nice ship and a great crew, and we usually loot other ships and spend our vacations on unknown islands when we are not traveling through the seven seas.”

That was inaccurate and basically fake, but when Daichi’s eyes gleamed with excitement, Koushi regretted nothing. Before he spoke again, Koushi readjusted his position, making him end up chest to chest with Daichi. The merman allowed Koushi’s movements without even a flinch, his arms steadily holding Koushi as if this was the most normal of things.

“Do you like pirates, Daichi?” Koushi asked softly, a smirk on his lips. He felt Daichi’s ears lit up in embarrassment when Koushi’s seductive tone finally registered.

“I find them… interesting. Not regular sailors, not regular—uhm, men.”

“Well,” Koushi stirred, trying to make himself more comfortable. Daichi inhaled harshly and held the air on his lungs. Koushi smiled. “We are regular men, as you can feel,” Daichi’s breathing came out heavily. “And we are _better_ than regular sailors, of course,” Koushi rolled his eyes. “Those losers from the navy barely leave their costs, can you imagine that? Why would you give your life to the ocean, if you plan to stay aground?”

Daichi was smiling softly by the time Koushi finished his rant. It was small and tender and it told Koushi more than words could do.

“Pirates are _also_ criminals, though,” Daichi murmured, and Koushi wasn’t sure if he was talking to him, or to himself.

“Depends on whose law.”

Daichi chuckled and hummed, making Koushi’s insides all fluffy and soft and embarrassingly aware of the merman. He was about to answer him, —something that didn’t know what subtly meant,— when they heard screams.

Koushi turned around so fast he made Daichi’s grip fall, making Koushi sink down again. The cold water stabbed Koushi’s face on the single second he stayed underwater, and he couldn’t be thankful enough when Daichi reached for him and saved him. Again.

“That’s the third time.”

“To be fair, you’re the one who let go of me.”

Koushi didn’t have time to enjoy Daichi’s exasperated expression, for the screams repeated again, clearer now.

They were yelling his name.

“It’s my crew,” Koushi said, breathless.

Daichi frowned, and before Koushi could say anything else, he put his face underwater, in the direction the shouts were coming from. When Daichi resurfaced, his eyes were bright blue, morphing rapidly to the black Koushi was accustomed.

“They’ll reach us soon.”

“You have super–underwater–vision?”

Daichi’s expression was hilarious, but Koushi didn’t have time to swim on it. Their time together was coming to an end, and gods be damned, Koushi didn’t want it to. He was freezing to death, yes, but Daichi was a mystery, a _hot_ mystery. Koushi had to know more about him.

“I’m gonna help you—.”

“Come meet me again,” Koushi interrupted.

Daichi opened his eyes to the extent of panic, and shook his head. Koushi felt his stomach drop into the deepest part of the ocean.

“I can’t do that,” Daichi whispered, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Why not? We are friends, aren’t we?”

When Daichi flinched, Koushi regretted the harshness of his words.

“We have strict rules. I can’t interact with humans more than necessary.”

“Why not?”

“I told you about our bad name,” Daichi started to swim, his tail disrupting the now calmed sea. “We’ve been working hard to restore our status as decent creatures. I can’t—. It would break the rules of my people to befriend… you.”

Tanaka’s voice was getting louder. Koushi could feel time disappear from his hands as the water was flowing between him and Daichi. He held Daichi’s nape with strength, making the merman end up nose to nose with him.

They were both panting.

“But do you want to?”

“Want what.”

“Befriend me. I’d love to befriend you. In fact, I’m gonna call us friends already, because you’ve saved me thrice and I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing…”

“Daichi,” Koushi was so close he could feel Daichi’s breath on his chin. “Please.”

“I’m sorry,” Daichi started to swim faster. The wind was cutting Koushi’s back in small wounds . “I must protect my people. A friendship—. It’s a selfish way to put them at risk.”

Koushi wanted to insist, but he didn’t. He wanted to tell Daichi he was gonna throw himself off the boat every single day, and if Daichi wasn’t there to save him, then be it. He’d drawn and they’d have to meet on the other world.

Instead of wording his awful thoughts, Koushi smiled. It was sad and a bit itchy on the edges, but it was the best Koushi could pull off. He let his fingers caress Daichi’s nape, a tenderness Koushi wasn’t used to show. Daichi frowned, his tail moving faster and faster until Koushi could feel his ship behind him.

Tanaka’s and Noya’s voices were louder than Koushi’s heartbeat, and that was something. Koushi felt as if he was stepping through a dream made of glass, wary of every corner, scared of every reflection. He could barely let go of Daichi’s neck enough to hold onto the ladder. And when he did, the cold took the place of Daichi’s arms and body, leaving Koushi shivering a meter above the dark sea.

“You didn’t even ask me my name!” Koushi yelled to the nothingness, unsure if Daichi was still there, unable to distinguish if the splashes he was hearing were the sea against the prow, or Daichi swimming away.

Seconds ticked in. Koushi could feel his throat close, his mind blurry and regretful and—.

“What’s your name, pirate?”

It was the sweetest of songs, and Koushi smiled.

“Captain Sugawara Koushi, at your service.”

Koushi saw a gleam on the sea before the sound of the waves erased every trace that Daichi was there.

He probably wasn’t, Koushi would tell himself. It was all probably a dream, like his fantasies–not–quite–memories. It was the salty water and the cold, that had made him imagine things.

But when Koushi went to his chambers and undressed himself, his crew like chickens without heads running around him, he felt it. The marks of Daichi’s arms around his waist, a path of stardust.

Of _merman_ dust.

They all quieted suddenly, when Koushi’s pale skin shone on the darkened room.

“Well, Captain, you _did_ have fun under there, didn’t you.”

Koushi couldn’t but laugh at Noya’s stupid remark, because damn yes, he had.

And he would again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶  
> if anyone wants to reach out and scream:  
> [main blog](http://ellehletoile.tumblr.com/)  
> [writing blog](http://negare-boshi.tumblr.com/)


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